Not exactly a vote of confidence from Angelo.
Bears general manager Jerry Angelo gave his postseason assessment today, and as votes of confidence go, Bob Babich and Kyle Orton probably can't feel too comfortable.
In fact, the way Angelo talked up former Lions coach Rod Marinelli, Babich may wonder how much longer he'll be with the Bears.
Here is what Angelo had to say:
On Marinelli:
"I think the world of Rod Marinelli. I would have to have Rod Marinelli on our staff, and I think Lovie would say the same thing.
"He's a great football coach. Anytime you have a chance to get a great coach or a great player you're not going to say you wouldn't consider that. But that's premature. I do know Rod and I think he is a very good coach and will be a great addition to any staff."
On defensive coordinator Bob Babich:
"When you're not playing consistent football, you're job is not good enough. You have to be consistent in this league. If you're going to win you have to be consistent. We weren't consistent.
"Those are things we'll get into. I don't want to go further than that because we haven't talked about anything.
"I don't know what all the issues are. There are things that are going to be shared with me that will give me things to think about. We do need to come to an agreement at the end of the day and once we agree on something, we'll make it work.
"I can't say all the things I feel to you today. We'll be very honest. We see what you see. We'll be very objective. And things that need to be changed will be changed."
On quarterback Kyle Orton:
"I'm not convinced 100 percent obviously. I believe in Kyle, but until he puts a good year together we can't say for sure. I saw some really good things out of Kyle, particuarly early on in the season. He didn't have the second half that he had in the first half. Is that part of growing pains that come along with the position? I can't answer that right now. We really buy into Kyle the person. He showed an exemplary work ethic. Leadership to be voted captain by your peers is a good thing. But he's still a work in progress. We have time and going to take our time and will have to wait and see.
"I think we have to have competition at that position. We have to keep an eye on that position, more than any. We have to get that position right. I know there's going to be a lot of talk about a No. 1 receiver, but it starts with the quarterback. It's all about the quarterback. You don't win because of wide receivers. You don't win because of running backs. You win because of the quarterback. We have to get that position stabilized. We're fixated on that.
"I don't want us to lose sight of that.
"I don't know [who he might go after]until I know who's out there. If we feel that's our best option then we have to look at it very seriously. That position has to get righted. The offense starts with the quarterback. We know it's the most valuable position on the football team. We've gone through so many scenarios at that position we can write a book, moreso on what not do.
"But I do have confidence in Kyle. I don't want anyone coming out of this thinking we don't believe in Kyle. We do believe in Kyle. But he has to take another step. That's the bottom line.
"You're seeing more and more recycled quarterbacks do well. This year was the "over the hill quarterback gang." When you look at [Gus] Frerotte, [Kerry] Collins, what Kurt Warner did. It's amazing. Looks like it could from anywhere at any age now.
"Is it all on his shoulders? No. You still have to block and run the football. You still have to catch.
Other thoughts:
"Not a good time. We anticipated playing this week, unfortunately it didn't work out that way.
"We'll never be accepting mediocrity. We had a 9-7 season. I know that's a winning season, but we didn't make the playoffs and fell short of our goal. Our goal is to be a competitive football team. ... From there, we want to win our division. That's a very realistic goal. You're never going to hear me say rebuilding or have to take a step backward. ...
"Nobody gave Atlanta any chance this year, coming in with a rookie quarterback and doing the things that they did. It happen and it happens every year. Every year we expect to win.
"Very disappointed with way season ended, especially with us having some control over our destiny, but it didn't work.
"So we're here now and moving forward.
"We haven't made the playoffs the last two years and it is bothersome. We do feel that pressure, and we are going to work very hard in the offseason.
"If changes needed to be made, changes will be made. Sometimes change might come in the form of your approach and what you're doing.
"I'm very confident we have a good core of players in place. We'll add players, but if we didn't add anybody, we'll still be a good football team. And I feel very strongly about that."
On Lovie Smith saying the Bears are close: "What I construe that statement to mean is Lovie is a great leader, and all great leaders create hope. He does not want anybody, our fans or our players thinking there isn't hope. That's what he meant. Nobody is any more competitive than Lovie. He is driven to win.
"The Green Bay game up there is the only game we weren't ready to play.
"The disappointment in the defense was the inconsistency in the defense.
"I am disappointed with a few players. And those players are going to have to be accountable for what they do. I'm not going to get into names. But that's the bottom line. That's being part of a team. If you're part of a team, you're giving your best each and every day. And that's not asking too much. That's expected.
"I'm not hesitant to cut anybody. I don't let money get in the way of doing what's right for the football team. Egg on my face doesn't bother me. Guys in the locker room who aren't producing or aren't good karma, does. Whatever we need to do, we will do to be the best we can be. We make mistakes. That's part of the game.
"Until [draft picks] play we can't sit here and say what they are or what they aren't. I want all of our draft picks to play. I think there were five who played and when they played they all contributed, which was a good sign to see. But in Earl [Bennett's] case he didn't get a chance to play. That was a coaching decision. I tell our coaches to put the best players on the field to give us the best chance to win on Sunday. That's their call. They live with the players, go to meetings with the players, that's their job. I'm not.
"The one person I do believe in in terms of everyday is Brian Urlacher. I will never question his commitment, his passion or his love for football. He has too much character, too much pride to not be the best he can be.
"Is he the Brian Urlacher of old? I can't say that. Can he still make a Pro Bowl? He still has enough to make a Pro Bowl. He's still a very good football player. I have to go with what I see on tape. But I have a lot of confidence in Brian. He's been a great player for the Chicago Bears, a great leader for us. I respect him immensely. And you have to look at the total package when you evaluate a player.
"With Tommie [Harris}, he's had a lot of thing go on. And about the midway point of the season, things started to settle down for him. I thought we saw a lot better Tommie Harris particularly in the last quarter of the season. I feel strongly he's going to give us the type of season we paid him for. I feel very strongly about that.
"There's never been a No. 1 receiver and a No. 1 kick returner. I anticipated the potential of Devin's returns to fall off given the fact we were going to escalate his play time at receiver. We wanted to escalate his play time, and his returns did suffer. Is that to say the absolute reason why? I don't know. Teams got better and did a lot more studying. He wasn't the returner we saw in the last couple years. I'm going to look at that real hard. One thing we know is he's a playmaker, and when you have a playmaker, you want to make sure you get him the ball to make as many plays as he can on Sunday."
